icesave account

money_tree

I was thinking of opening an ice save account,however they warn people not to use public computers.I do not own a computer,so would it be risky for me to use,say the local library computer?
regards mt

KTF

As long as you log out after each time and clear the cookies, etc it should be fine.

oldfella

I wouldnt - you never know what key loggers might be running

nilrem_2

money_tree wrote: »

I was thinking of opening an ice save account,however they warn people not to use public computers.I do not own a computer,so would it be risky for me to use,say the local library computer?
regards mt

I would say that it was no more risky than the way a vast number of people do online banking on their home computers without any antivirus/firewall/antispyware software installed!

justaquickie

MT, IMHO risk is best assessed by you; so I hope you won’t take advice (including mine) on face value alone. Certainly, like many other banks/BSs, Landsbanki/Icesave ‘recommend’ you don’t use public computers but you should consider (1) what is the risk of somebody fraudulently gaining access to your account? (2) what they then might be able to do? AND (3) how much is at stake?

(1) Key logging software on a ‘dirty’ public PC, for example, might provide a hacker with the keystrokes needed to access your account. The Icesave login authentication process prompts for ‘random’ characters from data fields you lodge, so it’s made difficult – but far from impossible – for somebody to break in with limited collected key data.

(2) As funds can only be transferred to nominated/linked accounts – you can set up a max of 3 – a successful hacker would (a) need to set up a new linked account destination in order to drain your funds (this requires posting a completed form and forging your signature – there is also likely to be a postal and/or e-mail confirmation to you from Landsbanki but I’m not sure of details?) OR (b) transfer the funds to one of your existing nominated accounts and then, 3 or 4 days later when the transfer completes, break into the nominated account and drain the funds from there. So, if you don’t have Internet banking enabled on your linked/nominated account(s), for example, the risk is dramatically reduced.

(3) Consider how much money you plan to deposit and how catastrophic it would be to lose it all. Is it safer elsewhere? Is it worth the better rate?

Only death and taxes are guaranteed

Mortgage_&_debt_free

If you use public libraries they have excellent anti-virus/hacker protection.
I used to do all my banking/investments this way.

I made sure I logged out correctly & no-one could see me logging in and never had a problem or cause for concern.

The other thing to remember when you're logging onto to an account in this environment is to NOT click the box on login that asks if you want the PC to remember your login ID.

oldfella

If you use public libraries they have excellent anti-virus/hacker protection.
I used to do all my banking/investments this way

---

and you can guarantee that the protection hasnt been corrupted, turned-off, disabled etc ?

Sillychuckie

People have already mentioned the obvious precautionary steps to take such as:
- Log out fully
- Close the web browser
- Clear the cookies

If you are worried about 'key loggers' (they record every key stroke made at the pc), there are a few other steps you can take if you want to be 100% secure (if not a little anal).

1. Imagine each key you are typing is added to a file that a user can read later on. Also keep in mind that mouse movements and mouse selections are not logged.
SO.
When your bank ask you to type in your 6 digit pin number, DO NOT TYPE:
"123456".

Instead, type XXX1XX2XX3X4XXXX5XXXX6XXX.
As you type the X's (invalid numbers), you can do a few things:
Select them with your mouse when typing the next number (overwriting them), or also use the back space to delete them.
It takes longer, but essentially makes the output to the key logging file complete gibberish.

Another alternative is to open notepad, and type in a batch of numbers at random:
32548724597234501118734502872342
Use the clipboard feature (copy/paste) to pull out individual characters which you can then paste (in order), into the password box.
Also, sometimes copy incorrect ones, and paste them back into the notepad file at the end of the gibberish numbers (in case they log the content of the clipboard also).

If I am ever banking on a 100% public PC, even with virus protection and firewalls, these are steps I take.
As a software developer, I can easily knock up a key logger software that is hidden (and not found by virus scanners) in about 5-10 minutes. Virus scanners dont detect custom developed things like this, so assume that you are always at risk and take these steps.

2. Lastly:
Do not use the 'accessibility' keyboard that comes with windows, where you can 'click' to type, thinking this will get around key loggers.
Windows triggers the same events when you do this, so key loggers will log these clicks as if you had typed them.

justaquickie

If you are worried about 'key loggers' (they record every key stroke made at the pc), there are a few other steps you can take if you want to be 100% secure (if not a little anal).

SC. Good advice (methinks) but I don't know about "100% secure"? - wrt key loggers or other nasties. For example, Icesave authentication uses popup alphanumeric lists to enter characters from your personal data strings. These are then displayed on-screen until you select enter to proceed. A screen-scrape at this point will collect your entered data (On a PC you can simulate: ALT/Print Screen + paste into paint). I wish more institutions would just display a "*" to indicate a selection has been made.

Or, someone can look over your shoulder